Dawnguard Emerges From Stealth With €2.6M To Help Developers Build Safer Code From The Ground Up

Dawnguard is reimagining security by building it into systems from day one—rather than adding it as an afterthought. Their approach ensures stronger protection, better compliance, and faster development.

Chris Corbishley, Managing Partner 9900 Capital, says, “Hundreds of security tools overwhelm CISOs with promises of better detection, yet few tackle the root issue: design flaws in code that AI-driven threats exploit. As attacks grow smarter, defences must shift left—embedding resilience at the codebase. We are excited to back Dawnguard, who build protection by design, not patch by necessity.”

Founded by CEO Mahdi Abdulrazak and CTO Kim van Lavieren—alumni of IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon—the company tackles the shortcomings of traditional security: manual checks, fragmented documentation, and reactive models that can’t keep pace with modern development.

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Dawnguard’s platform embeds security into system architecture from the start. It validates design intent, generates infrastructure as code, and maintains security posture post-deployment. By offering a collaborative canvas, it enables engineering and security teams to co-design systems that are secure, scalable, cost-efficient and resilient.

Powered by AI and ML, Dawnguard detects vulnerabilities early, adapts to complex environments, and ensures security is built-in—not bolted on.

CTO Kim van Lavieren says, “Dawnguard closes the gap between design and reality. We’re giving teams the power to translate security intent into enforceable code so they don’t have to rely on spreadsheets, static docs, or guesswork.”

Dawnguard is built for security architects, DevOps engineers, and cloud teams. It allows teams to validate cloud infrastructure designs pre-deployment, auto-generate production-ready Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and continuously enforce security posture post-deployment—eliminating configuration drift.

“Dawnguard isn’t just building tech — they’re rewriting the DNA of cybersecurity. In a world addicted to patching symptoms, they’ve chosen to re-engineer the root. That’s not just bold — it’s necessary,” adds Dimitri van Zantvliet, Dutch Railways CISO & Chair Dutch CISO Community, and a Dawnguard investor and advisor.

Dawnguard will use the funding to expand its engineering team, enhance enterprise system integrations, and accelerate platform adoption. It also plans to tailor its platform for dynamic, AI-driven environments, close security gaps in GenAI development and redefine how trust is built at scale.

Mahdi Abdulrazak, CEO of Dawnguard, says, “Our industry treats security as a checkbox. It’s broken. We built Dawnguard because security needs to be part of the system’s DNA from the start, not an afterthought. This is about aligning intent with reality, and giving teams the tools to enforce that alignment at the earliest stage and long after deployment.”

“With software moving faster than ever, security can’t be stuck in the past” adds Abdulrazak. “We’re creating the platform that makes secure architecture not just possible, but inevitable.”

About Dawnguard

Founded in 2025, Dawnguard aims to redefine cybersecurity by enabling true shift-left security—from initial design to long-term operations—with a platform built for lasting protection and adaptability.